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Cassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain (also known as Cassandra Wayne) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Kelley Puckett and Damion Scott, Cassandra Cain first appeared in Batman #567 (July 1999). The character is one of several who have assumed the role of Batgirl, and Cassandra Cain goes by the name of Orphan in current DC Comics continuity. Cassandra's origin story presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva. She was deprived of speech and human contact during her childhood as conditioning to become the world's greatest assassin. Consequently, Cassandra grew up to become an expert martial artist while simultaneously remaining mute, developing very limited social skills, and being illiterate. Cassandra was the second Batgirl to star in her own ongoing Batgirl comic book series, an Asian character who was replaced as Batgirl by Stephanie Brown in a 2009 storyline. She returned in late 2010, where she was shown working as an anonymous agent of Batman in Hong Kong before adopting the new moniker of Black Bat. She returned to mainstream continuity after the company-wide reboot in Batman & Robin Eternal and assumed the code name Orphan after the death of her father David Cain, who originally used the code name. The character will make her cinematic debut in the upcoming film Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), portrayed by Ella Jay Basco. Publication history The character was created by writer Kelley Puckett and penciler Damion Scott. Cassandra Cain first appeared in Batman #567 (July 1999). Cassandra appeared as one of the main characters in a short story written and drawn by Amanda Conner for Wonder Woman #600, where she helps Wonder Woman and Power Girl in a battle against Egg Fu. Fictional character biography No Man's Land Cassandra Cain was first introduced during the "No Man's Land" crossover storyline in 1999. She is one of the Oracle's agents in Gotham City. In that arc, Gotham was leveled by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, declared a "no man's land", and isolated from the rest of the United States. After proving herself by saving Commissioner Gordon's life, she is given the Batgirl costume with the approval of both Batman and the Oracle. She becomes a ward of Barbara Gordon (Oracle). In this story arc, Cassandra cannot speak at all and can only communicate through gestures and drawings. Bruce Wayne (Batman) eventually learns about Cassandra's past. She murdered a businessman when she was eight years old, after which David Cain transmitted a video he had made of the murder to the Batcave. Nevertheless, Wayne continues to accept Cassandra after she takes several bullets to save the life of a hired assassin, proving her devotion to protecting human life.Batgirl #3-7 (June – October 2000) ''Batgirl'' In 2000, Cassandra became the first Batgirl to be featured in an eponymous ongoing comic book series. At first she is discovered by Batman and sent to live with Barbara Gordon, currently functioning as Oracle. Babs says she prefers to live alone but since Cas is never home and doesn't talk, it is just like living alone. A telepath "rewires" Cassandra's brain so that she can think with words and use language, but these abilities come at some cost to her ability to read people's body language. As she had relied completely on this ability to fight, she is unable to effectively fight crime. Worried, Bruce Wayne takes away her costume and begins training her in defensive skills. Cassandra's birth and childhood are revealed in the Batgirl series. David Cain had sought a perfect bodyguard for Ra's al Ghul. He found a potential mother when he saw Sandra Wu-San fighting her sister Carolyn in a martial arts tournament. Believing that Sandra was holding back for Carolyn, Cain murdered Carolyn and lured Sandra into a trap, sparing her life in exchange for giving birth to his child and leaving that child for him to raise. She agreed. After the birth of Cassandra, Sandra set out to become Lady Shiva. Cain trained Cassandra from birth how to be an assassin. She was not taught to read or write; instead, reading body language was her only language. She was able to read people's movements and predict what they were going to do. When she was eight, Cain took her to kill a businessman. As the man died, she read what he was feeling, realized what she had done, and ran away from her father, resurfacing again during the "No Man's Land" story arc. Cassandra soon discovers that assassin Lady Shiva can read people like she used to be able to and asks Shiva to reteach her.Batgirl #9 (December 2000) Lady Shiva accepts on the condition that they would have a duel to the death a year later. As Cassandra would rather be "perfect for a year" instead of "mediocre for a lifetime", she accepts the offer. When the women fight in a year's time, Cassandra dies within minutes. Shiva then restarts her heart, realizing Cassandra had a death wish, so that they can have a real fight. In the subsequent fight, Cassandra beats Shiva but does not kill her. Though not known for her private life, Cassandra does have a one-time romance with Conner Kent after meeting him on a cruise ship.Batgirl #40 (July 2003) He is the first boy she ever kissed, and she even visits him at his home in Smallville, though the relationship never becomes serious. Batman holds Cassandra in high regard. During the "War Games" story arc in 2004, he relies heavily on her to help control the violence of the gang war in Gotham City. Following "War Games", Batgirl moves to Blüdhaven with Tim Drake (the third Robin) at Batman's suggestion and with his financial support (Nightwing had been injured during the crisis, and the Gotham City Police Department had declared all costumed heroes illegal). There, Deathstroke takes on a contract from the Penguin to kill Batgirl and decides to let his daughter, Rose (the current Ravager), do the job instead. Cassandra beats Rose by playing on her emotions to leave her open for a critical strike, giving Deathstroke no choice but to get her medical attention. During this time, Cassandra starts developing a friendship with Brenda, the woman who owns the local coffee shop, and even a very short-lived relationship with a boy named Zero. Unfortunately, her friends are all killed in the Blüdhaven disaster. Cassandra also goes undercover for Batman, as Kasumi, in the Justice League Elite, working under Sister Superior to track and eliminate metahuman threats to the population. She works with the Batman's old fellow Justice League members Green Arrow and the Flash, and forms a certain bond with Coldcast, who is the first person to whom she revealed her real identity. Although he is subsequently accused of murder, she and the rest of the team soon realize that he had been manipulated by renegade Elite member Menagerie, who was also being manipulated by the spirit of Manchester Black as he tried to drive his sister to destroy London. As the JLA falls, the Elite, united by the spirit of the deceased Manitou Raven, free Vera and vanquish Black, although the team disbands after this last mission. Cassandra gathers evidence that indicates that Shiva could be her mother, and seeks her out to confirm this. After being proclaimed by Nyssa al Ghul as the "One Who Is All", the students of the League of Assassins split their allegiances, half following Shiva and the others Cassandra. In the ensuing confrontation, Cassandra is mortally wounded by her "adoptive brother", the Mad Dog, while heroically saving one of the students under her leadership. Shiva revives Cassandra in a Lazarus Pit, then answers Cassandra's questions about her parentage. When Cassandra asks Shiva if she had killed more people since their last battle and Shiva said that she had, Cassandra asks if she would ever stop. Shiva responds, "It's why I had you", and Cassandra agrees to fight her to the death once more. In an evenly matched battle, Cassandra manages to break Shiva's neck, paralyzing her. She appears ready to place Shiva in the Lazarus Pit, but Shiva pleads with her not to do so. In response, Cassandra impales Shiva on a hook hanging over the pit, apparently killing her. Although Cassandra's intent regarding this action is unclear, whether to kill her or let her fall into the pit and be revived, it has been confirmed that Shiva is alive in the "One Year Later" storyline. Cassandra then abandons the identity of Batgirl and returns to her life as a wanderer. One Year Later Cassandra took on the role of a villain by becoming the head of the League of Assassins following the "One Year Later" continuity jump, as established in Robin #150 (July 2006). Robin (Tim Drake) captures David Cain and brings him to the League of Assassins as ransom to free Cassandra, only to find that Cassandra is the new leader. Cassandra produces a gun and tells him to shoot Cain and join her league. Upon his refusal, she shoots Cain herself. Tim and Cassandra engage in a fight which ends when the platform they are fighting on explodes. By the time Tim comes back to the original location, Cassandra and Cain are gone and the ninjas' necks have been snapped. Tim had secretly recorded the conversation, clearing his name, but branding Cassandra as a murderer at the same time. Cassandra then appears in Supergirl #14 (April 2007), battling the title character, (Kara Zor-El), in her role as leader of the League of Assassins. She is hired by Dark Angel to kill Supergirl and attempts to do so by kidnapping Supergirl's friend, Captain Boomerang. Supergirl arrives at the League's Tibetan headquarters to confront Cassandra, where they fight. Cassandra uses swords that emit red sun energy which strips away Supergirl's powers. However, as Cassandra prepares to kill her, Supergirl mysteriously extrudes crystals from her body which injure Cassandra. This story is shown to follow the "One Year Later" jump in the Robin series, as in Supergirl #14 there is a file in the Batcomputer titled "Cassandra Cain and the League of Assassins", showing this takes place after she battled Robin. In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #44 (April 2007), it revealed that Cassandra battled Supergirl first, before attacking the Teen Titans with the Titans East. Cassandra reappears later in the Robin series.Robin #161 (June 2007) Cassandra approaches Dodge, a wannabe superhero with teleportation powers, wanting him to steal a drug that gives humans metahuman strength in exchange for money. Cassandra (with an ally) plans to use the drug to create an army. She also makes another appearance where she murders the businessman who was producing that drug. Robin had been unable to legally bring him to justice. Cassandra is also on the roster of Titans East and is once again wearing the Batgirl costume.Teen Titans vol. 3, #43 (2007) Cassandra remained in the role of a villain, under the command of Titans East's leader, Deathstroke. It is revealed in Teen Titans (vol. 3) #43 that she is being drugged by Deathstroke. In issue #44, after a rematch with the Ravager and a brief confrontation with Robin, Robin injects Cassandra with a counter-serum (prepared in case Deathstroke regains control of his daughter). She apparently regains control over herself, with a desire for revenge by killing Deathstroke for violating her like Ravager and Terra before her. In issue #45, Cassandra is allied with the Teen Titans (to which Miss Martian comments that she is more in control of herself now) and faces Deathstroke, Match, and other former Titans East teammates, before being subdued by Risk. Soon after, Cyborg, Raven, and Duela Dent summon former Titans Nightwing, Donna Troy, Beast Boy, and the Flash (Bart Allen), who join them against Deathstroke's team. Batgirl attempts to kill Deathstroke, but is stopped and knocked unconscious by Nightwing, who demands that Deathstroke face the courts. However, Deathstroke escapes from the Titans with the help of Inertia, and after the battle is over, Batgirl and Duela Dent both vanish without a word. ''52: World War III'' Following the events in Infinite Crisis, 52 fills in the one-year gap where "One Year Later" left off. Cassandra was left behind while Batman, Robin, and Nightwing left for their year-long trip and Harvey Dent was charged with protecting Gotham instead of her. Deathstroke approaches Cassandra and preys on her desire for a loving father as well as her feelings of abandonment. Although occurring off-screen, Deathstroke managed to inject Cassandra with drugs, from a distance, that warped her mind allowing for him to manipulate her to his liking.World War III #2 (June 2007) Batman and the Outsiders In October 2007, DC announced that Cassandra would be taking up the Batgirl identity as a member of the Outsiders in the upcoming Batman and the Outsiders ongoing series to be written by Chuck Dixon, which appears to, or is hoped to, begin resolving the controversy. Cassandra retakes the Batgirl mantle to join the Outsiders at Batman's request near the end of Batman and the Outsiders (vol. 2) #2 (January 2008). Cassandra moves into the team's apartment, but does not show much desire to socialize with her teammates. Batman also offers membership to Green Arrow, who is furious to learn that the former leader of the League of Assassins is on the team as well. While on a mission, Green Arrow and Batgirl battle one another and end up gaining an unusual sort of respect for each other. The team as a whole begins to slowly accept Batgirl into their ranks when she frees all of them from the Chinese military. After the loss of their leader in the 2008 "Batman R.I.P." storyline, the Outsiders are left in disarray. Cassandra, believing that Batman brought her onto the team for just such a contingency, takes command of the group. Together, they undertake a search for him. ''Batgirl'' (2008) In February 2008, Dan DiDio revealed during a convention panel that writer Adam Beechen would be writing a "new Batgirl" miniseries. Beechen himself said that the story would resolve the questions over Cassandra's behavior and will be a setup for new Batgirl adventures. In this series, Cassandra moves into Wayne Manor and desires to kill her father and Deathstroke for what they did to her. She uses the Batcave's computer to locate them but is attacked by Nightwing, who claims she cannot be trusted. Robin and Batman give her the benefit of the doubt. During the series, Cassandra learns that David Cain and Deathstroke started up a school training Cassandra's "sisters". When Cassandra hears that the school's purpose was to "cripple the meta-hero community", she believes Oracle is about to be assassinated and rushes to her base of operations. She locates her father on a rooftop and engages in a one-on-one fight, eventually sending him over a ledge. When he loses his grip, she tries to save him but fails; he falls to another part of the rooftop. Batman, who had followed her, accepts her into the family again and says he will adopt her and make her his daughter. The first issue of a 2009 Batgirl ongoing series, set after Bruce Wayne's apparent death during Final Crisis, shows Cassandra disillusioned. She passes her Batgirl identity to her close friend, Stephanie Brown. She leaves Gotham, with her whereabouts unknown.Batgirl #1 (October 2009) Black Bat ; art by Marcus To.]] After Bruce Wayne returns, it is revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse, and that she had willingly handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie because she was acting under her mentor's order in the event of his death or disappearance. Tim Drake is revealed to have been in regular contact with her, implying that she is now an anonymous agent to Batman.Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batgirl #1 (December 2010) Following Bruce Wayne's public announcement about his intention to create a global team of Batmen, Tim visits Cassandra in Hong Kong, where she has been acting as an anonymous vigilante. He attempts to persuade Cassandra to return to Gotham now that things have returned to normal, but she refuses, saying that Stephanie needs the Batgirl role more than she does. Just before departing, Tim gives Cassandra a copy of her old costume and tells her that if she chooses to stay and fight crime in Hong Kong, he hopes she will do it while wearing a Bat-symbol.Red Robin #17 (January 2011) In Grant Morrison's Batman Inc. series, it is revealed that Cassandra has taken Tim up on his offer and joined up with Bruce's new group, now wearing a heavily modified costume that uses her original outfit as a base. She now uses the name of Black Bat, and is shown contacting Bruce after bringing down a heroin-smuggling operation in Hong Kong.Batman Inc. #6 (May 2011) At C2E2 2011, it was confirmed that Cassandra would be appearing as a main character in Scott Snyder and Kyle Higgins' mini-series Batman: Gates of Gotham. In the first issue of the series, a new supervillain named the Architect destroys three Gotham bridges with the help of explosives smuggled from Hong Kong, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians. Feeling guilty over her failure to stop the explosives from leaving China, Cassandra returns to Gotham and partners with Red Robin, Dick Grayson, and Damian Wayne (the newest Robin) to bring the Architect to justice.Batman: Gates of Gotham #1 (May 2011) During a stakeout at Oswald Cobblepot's nightclub, Cassandra is mocked and berated by Damian, who tells her that he is a better hero and that Bruce likely sent her to Hong Kong as a demotion. Despite Damian's hostility toward her, Cassandra ultimately saves his life after pulling him out of the club mere seconds before it is destroyed by a bomb.Batman: Gates of Gotham #2 (June 2011) After Dick discovers that the Architect plans to flood Gotham and kill thousands of civilians, Cassandra and Damian work together to dispose of the explosives that were supposed to sink the city. Once the Architect is defeated and captured, Cassandra implies that she intends to stay in Gotham rather than return to Hong Kong.Batman: Gates of Gotham #5 (August 2011) Cassandra later infiltrates a tournament for hired killers and rescues Red Robin, who had been captured and was about to be sexually assaulted by the half-sister of Ra's al Ghul. After rescuing Tim, Cassandra apparently kills him with a katana, thus winning the tournament for herself. It is later revealed that she had merely faked Red Robin's death in order to allow him to escape. The two then travel to Hong Kong in order to catch a 10-year-old assassin known as the Cricket, but are easily defeated. Just as Cassandra and Tim fall into unconsciousness, the Cricket vows to face them again someday, and tells them that he hopes they will put up a better fight next time.Red Robin #25 (July 2011) The New 52 Cassandra Cain appears in Batgirl: Futures End, set in The New 52: Futures End continuity, a possible timeline five years from the present. Cassandra is a member of Barbara Gordon's League of Batgirls, operating on the field under her leadership alongside fellow Batgirls Stephanie Brown and Tiffany Fox. At San Diego Comic-Con International 2015, James Tynion IV announced that Cassandra would be introduced into mainstream continuity in Batman & Robin Eternal. Her father, David Cain, is portrayed as a character named the "Orphan", who raises Cassandra alone and forces her not to speak but to "listen" to body movements and react accordingly with deadly precision. She was intended to be a "gift" to the villain "Mother", to show her that child assassins can be manipulated through "the old ways" instead of through the use of drugs, but "Mother" rejected her and told Orphan never to do anything behind her back again. Although she is used by Mother to kill Miranda Row, mother of Batman's new ally Harper Row, at the conclusion of the storyline, Harper forgives Cassandra for her role in her mother's death, while Cassandra's own father David sacrifices himself to kill Mother by trapping her in her disintegrating fortress, refusing to allow her to torture others in the future. At the storyline's conclusion, Cassandra adopts her father's identity of Orphan to continue protecting others.Batman & Robin Eternal #26 DC Rebirth As Orphan, Cassandra is later inducted into Batman and Batwoman's "boot camp" for young Gotham vigilantes.Detective Comics #934 Orphan is known for being the best fighter on the team. She tries to fight the team's battles alone and is known for sneaking into Stephanie Brown's and Harper Row's apartments in the middle of the night. When Batman is attacked by the Colony, she tries to take them on by herself and is left injured and later sedated after leading the Colony into their base. Clayface helps Batwoman, Red Robin, Spoiler, and the injured Orphan escape. Skills, abilities, and equipment Training and abilities Like the rest of the Batman family, Cassandra has no superhuman powers. As a child, she received intensive training by her father, along with several other members of the League of Assassins, including Bronze Tiger, Merlyn the archer, and a series of instructors hired by her father, including Alpha. Upon taking the mantle of Batgirl, she was trained further by Batman, Oracle, Black Canary, and by Lady Shiva. She received supplementary instruction from Onyx. She is an amazing hand-to-hand combatant and is highly-skilled in several martial arts, including Jeet Kune Do,Batman: Gotham City Secret Files and Origins #1 (April 2000) Muay Thai, and Ninjutsu.Batgirl #21 (December 2001) She was also very briefly trained in detective methods by Tim Drake during their time in Blüdhaven. Cassandra's superiority in combat results not just from her excellent physical condition, but from her cognitive functions (the result of her idiosyncratic upbringing) that enables extraordinary feats of coordination as well as perceiving minute changes in an opponent's movements and body language. In Batgirl #14 (May 2001), the writer, Kelley Puckett, places Cassandra in a position within the story in which her skills are analyzed by a group of government experts. The creative team reveals to the reader that the character has no metagene. Yet her genetic status was felt to be incompatible with her recorded abilities. One expert states, "Her individual moves are borderline human. It's her aggregate speed that's metahuman. Look—humans can throw a 100 miles-per-hour fastball, smash concrete blocks with their heads, and run 4.2 forties. What they can't do is all of that at once. It's not so much physical as... as mentally impossible. Too much to coordinate."Batgirl #14 (May 2001) Her upbringing using body language as her exclusive mode of communication also had the effect of enabling her to "read" minute changes in an opponent's expressions, breathing, muscles, joint position, and center of gravity which in turn allows her to see or "predict" an opponent's moves before they happen. It is possible this ability is only partially the result of her upbringing and that there is a genetic predisposition to it since Lady Shiva, Cassandra's mother, is the only other martial artist known in the DC universe to have this ability. When a telepath "rewired" Cassandra's brain to allow her speech, this had the unintended consequence of blocking her ability to "predict" attacks, as though her ability to comprehend physical language was traded for her ability to speak and read. Eventually, Lady Shiva helped her to regain this ability, but how this was done is never revealed. "Batgirl #9-10 (December 2000, January 2001) Cassandra also exhibits extraordinary resistance to pain. On more than one occasion she has been described as "being able to take a bullet wound and not even bat an eye", due to additional training received as a child. Language skills As a side effect of her father's training, Cassandra's brain developed learning functions different from most. Having been brought up by Cain deliberately without speech, the communication centers of her brain learned body language instead of spoken or written language. Thus, she originally had as much trouble learning spoken and written language as a normal individual would have in learning body language. Although she was able to learn some very basic things ("no", "yes", "me") the same way a normal person can learn to recognize smiles and frowns, it took a telepath "rewiring" her brain to teach her to speak and understand English. Even then, she only spoke with extreme difficulty (very falteringly, short sentences with long pauses, frequently using the wrong words, etc.). In Batgirl #67 (October 2005), Oracle performed a number of tests on Cassandra, determining the severity of the problem: "The language centers of your brain are all over both hemispheres. Not centralized like with most people. When you try to read or write, your brain doesn't know how to keep it cohesive." In the 2008 Batgirl miniseries, the first issue delves into an explanation as to Cassandra's increased verbal and literary skills. It is explained that during the year in which Batman, Nightwing, and Robin were abroad, Cassandra and Alfred took it upon themselves to help develop the skills that she lacked due to her less than conventional childhood. By day she took speech and ESL courses. The formal training aided her thought processes related to language and thus her verbalization improved rapidly. Costume and equipment Cassandra's costume as Batgirl is composed of black skin-tight leather. Her mask covers all of her head with the exception of the eyes, which are darkened, and symbolic stitches surround the mouth of the mask. Cassandra wears a yellow-rimmed black logo rather than the yellow bat version of the logo worn by Barbara. The costume was first created and worn by the Huntress in the early stages of "No Man's Land". Like the other members of the Bat-Clan, Cassandra's Batgirl also wears a yellow-pouched utility belt which contains grappling hooks, batarangs, mini-explosives, tracking devices, a hand-held computer, binoculars, PlastiCuffs, and smoke pellets. However, Cassandra rarely uses any of these devices. The costume displays slight variations in Titans East. The cape shows a yellow lining and Cassandra wears a "capsule" utility belt rather than pouches. In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #43, the once hollow bat-symbol appears to have been filled in and her cape is once again completely black; a new line of stitching goes up the forehead of her cowl. This version of the costume apparently results from one artist's interpretation, as Cassandra's appearances elsewhere (i.e., Supergirl and Batman and the Outsiders) show her wearing her standard Batgirl costume. Her costume as Black Bat incorporates her former Batgirl costume, with some modifications. She now wears a domino mask and exposes the rest of her face and head. Her cape is now severely torn, looking ragged and almost smoke-like. Her hands are wrapped in bandages rather than her former scalloped bat-gloves. The costume she currently wears as Orphan consists of a form-fitting longsleeved black top, gloves, and full head mask; occasionally she has worn a variant with an attached hood and no mask. Her pants are looser and baggier in the thighs to allow greater flexibility with her acrobatics, and she wears knee-high black boots. The entire costume has yellow accents, with small armor plates in strategic areas on the torso and arms, and includes a yellow utility belt. Controversy Critical reception of Cassandra's villainous turn in the "One Year Later" storyline was mixed. In general, the portrayal of Tim Drake was praised, whereas Cassandra's depiction was not. Upon being asked if Cassandra's characterization was editorially mandated, writer Adam Beechen stated, "When I came to the book, I was told that the first arc would deal with presenting Cassandra as a major new enemy for Robin. From there, I worked out the details of just how that would come about with our initial editor, Eddie Berganza, and then his successor, Peter Tomasi." In a follow-up interview, he clarified further, stating, "They didn't present me with a rationale as to why Cassandra was going to change, or a motivating factor. That was left for me to come up with and them to approve. And we did that. But as far as to why the editors and writers and whoever else made the decision decided that was a good direction, I honestly couldn't answer." In interviews and press conferences, Dan DiDio and others have stated that Cass will "be going back to basics", as in her early adventures before she was able to talk. Later, Geoff Johns was quoted as saying, "We will be addressing in Teen Titans exactly what the deal is with her. Is she a bad guy? How? Why? She was a completely different character before 'One Year Later,' so let’s find out what happened."Titans Tower: Geoff Johns Looks Back titanstower.com According to Wizard Magazine #182, the storyline was "one of the most controversial changes to come out of DC's 'One Year Later' event", and "fans rose up in arms, organizing websites and letter-writing campaigns to protest the change." Dan Didio commented, "I'm glad to see there was a reaction created, it shows that people care about the character and want to see something happen with her." Other versions In the alternate timeline portrayed in the "Titans Tomorrow" storyline in Teen Titans, Cassandra was mentioned as having been murdered by Duela Dent. Years later, Tim Drake (now the new Batman) killed Duela in retaliation. In the timeline depicted in the sequel, "Titans Tomorrow... Today!", Cassandra is portrayed as Kate Kane's successor to the Batwoman mantle, and a member of Lex Luthor's Titans Army. A toddler version of Cassandra appears in several issues of Tiny Titans. She is a friend of Barbara Gordon and Stephanie Brown. Cassandra makes a cameo appearance in issue #13 of the second Batman: The Brave and the Bold tie-in comic. The issue focuses on the Phantom Stranger bringing together Robins from all time periods to help save Batman's life, because "Batman can always rely on Robin"; at the end of the comic, Stranger's sister Madame Xanadu remarks that had the Robins failed, "there is always Batgirl, too", revealing the four Batgirls (Cassie, Barbara Gordon, Bette Kane, and Stephanie Brown). In The New 52: Futures End, Cassandra appears as a member of the League of Batgirls alongside Stephanie Brown and a young African-American girl named Tiffany Fox (the daughter of Lucius Fox). Her friendship with Stephanie appears to have remained intact.Batgirl: Future's End #1 In the DC Comics Bombshells universe, Cassandra is a Chinese heroine known as Black Bat. After the end of World War II, she returns to her home country to help rebuild and make life better for the young girls there. Collected editions Most of the 2000 Batgirl ongoing series, as well as the 2008 miniseries, has been collected into trade paperbacks. Other collected editions * Bruce Wayne: Murderer? (Batgirl #24) * Bruce Wayne: Fugitive vol. 1 (Batgirl #27, #29) * Bruce Wayne: Fugitive vol. 3 (Batgirl #33) * Batman: War Games, Act 1 (Batgirl #55) * Batman: War Games, Act 2 (Batgirl #56) * Batman: War Games, Act 3 (Batgirl #57) * Ghost/Batgirl: The Resurrection Machine (a 4-part miniseries crossover with Ghost, a Dark Horse Comics character) * Bruce Wayne: Murderer? (New Edition) (Batgirl #24, #27) * Bruce Wayne: Fugitive (New Edition) (Batgirl #29, #33) * Batman: War Games Vol. 1 (Modern Release) (Batgirl #53, #55) * Batman: War Games Vol. 2 (Modern Release) (Batgirl #56, #57) In other media Film * In November 2016, Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), based on the female superhero team of the same name, was in development with Christina Hodson signed on as screenwriter. By April 2018, Warner Bros. selected Cathy Yan as director, with Margot Robbie, Sue Kroll, and Bryan Unkless serving as producers for the project. Robbie will reprise her role as Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn, with the film being the first theatrical R-rated installment in the franchise and will be made with a significantly smaller budget than some of the other films. The team roster will reportedly include Quinzel, Dinah Lance / Black Canary, Helena Bertinelli / Huntress, Cassandra Cain, and Renee Montoya. Ella Jay Basco will portray Cain in the film. Production will commence on January 15, 2019 in Los Angeles for a February 7, 2020 release date. Television * In the Justice League season one finale "The Savage Time" (based in the DC animated universe), a girl is seen with Tim Drake, Barbara Gordon, and Dick Grayson in an alternate timeline that bears a resemblance to Cassandra. The creators of the show have stated this as an uncredited cameo. * A male version of Orphan appear in the final seasons of Gotham portrayed by Nico Bustamante and Benjamin Snyder. * Cassandra Cain appears in Young Justice: Outsiders as Orphan. Video games * Cassandra Cain as Batgirl appears in a cameo alongside Robin (Tim Drake) in the video game Batman: Dark Tomorrow. * She can be made in the character creator in Lego Batman: The Videogame. * She can also be made in the character creator in Lego DC Super-Villains. * Cassandra appears as Batgirl in DC Universe Online voiced by Mindy Raymond. * Cassandra also appears as Batgirl in two Batman games made by The Learning Company: Toxic Chill and Justice Unbalanced. * Cassandra Cain appears as a Batgirl variant obtained by online challenge in the mobile version of Injustice: Gods Among Us. Audiobook * Cassandra Cain as Batgirl, voiced by Nanette Savard, appears in the GraphicAudio full-cast audiobook of the novelization of No Man's Land written by Greg Rucka. References External links * Interview with Kelley Puckett Category:American superheroes Category:Characters created by Jordan B. Gorfinkel Category:Characters created by Kelley Puckett Category:Characters created by Damion Scott Category:Comic book sidekicks Category:DC Comics martial artists Category:Female characters in comics Category:Fictional Asian-Americans Category:Fictional assassins Category:Fictional ninjas Category:Fictional mute characters Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1999